Fahad Shah, the editor of an independent news website in Kashmir, has been arrested under India’s anti-terror laws. Police are currently investigating whether Shah violated India’s sedition laws for his work at the news agency. Shah was arrested Friday in Pulwama, a city located in the Indian-administered part of the region. The contested territory is also administered in part by Pakistan. According to a statement published by media agency The Kashmir Walla, Shah was summoned by police as part of an investigation into a series of reports the outlet produced regarding a police raid in the area that occurred in January of last year. Shah has not yet been formally charged.
The police have accused Shah of being a member of a group of Facebook users who uploaded anti-national content such as videos and posts with criminal intention to create fear. The Kashmir Zone Police took to Twitter to state that Shah was suspected of glorifying terrorism and spreading fake news. Shah’s work has been featured across the world, in several international publications such as the Guardian, Time, and Foreign Policy. In 2021, he was awarded the 25th Human Rights Press Awards for his coverage of communal violence in Delhi. Shah’s case has garnered attention from media rights organizations in India.
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